US Rep. George Santos Charged with Fraud, Money Laundering, Theft of Public Funds, and False Statements
U.S.
Attorney's Office, Eastern District of New York
Santos
Allegedly Embezzled Contributions from Supporters, Fraudulently Obtained
Unemployment Benefits, and Lied in Disclosures to the House of Representatives
CENTRAL
ISLIP, NY – A 13-count indictment was unsealed today in the United States
District Court for the Eastern District of New York charging George Anthony
Devolder Santos, better known as “George Santos,” a United States Congressman
representing the Third District of New York, with seven counts of wire fraud,
three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds, and two
counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives.
The indictment was
returned yesterday under seal by a federal grand jury sitting in Central Islip,
New York. Santos was arrested this morning and will be arraigned this afternoon
before U.S. Magistrate Judge Arlene R. Lindsay at the federal courthouse in
Central Islip, New York.
Breon Peace, United
States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Kenneth A. Polite, Jr.,
Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and
Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of
Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Anne T. Donnelly, District
Attorney, Nassau County, announced the charges.
“This
indictment seeks to hold Santos accountable for various alleged fraudulent
schemes and brazen misrepresentations,” stated United States Attorney
Peace. “Taken together, the allegations in the indictment charge Santos
with relying on repeated dishonesty and deception to ascend to the halls of
Congress and enrich himself. He used political contributions to line his
pockets, unlawfully applied for unemployment benefits that should have gone to
New Yorkers who had lost their jobs due to the pandemic, and lied to the House
of Representatives. My Office and our law enforcement partners will
continue to aggressively root out corruption and self-dealing from our
community’s public institutions and hold public officials accountable to the
constituents who elected them.”
“As today's enforcement
action demonstrates, the FBI remains committed to holding all equally
accountable under the law. As we allege, Congressman Santos committed
federal crimes, and he will now be forced to face the consequences of his
actions. I would like to commend the diligent efforts of the
investigative and prosecutorial teams in this matter,” stated FBI Assistant
Director-in-Charge Driscoll.
“At the height of the pandemic
in 2020, George Santos allegedly applied for and received unemployment benefits
while he was employed and running for Congress,” stated District Attorney
Donnelly. “As charged in the indictment, the defendant’s alleged behavior
continued during his second run for Congress when he pocketed campaign
contributions and used that money to pay down personal debts and buy designer
clothing. This indictment is the result of a lengthy collaboration between law
enforcement agencies, and I thank our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office,
the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their
dedication to rooting out public corruption.”
Mr. Peace also thanked the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, the New York State Department of Labor (NYS DOL), and the Queens County District Attorney’s Office for their assistance.
As alleged in the
indictment, Santos, who was elected to Congress last November and sworn in as
the U.S. Representative for New York’s Third Congressional District on January
7, 2023, engaged in multiple fraudulent schemes.
Fraudulent Political
Contribution Solicitation Scheme
Beginning in September
2022, during his successful campaign for Congress, Santos operated a limited
liability company (Company #1) through which he allegedly defrauded prospective
political supporters. Santos enlisted a Queens-based political consultant
(Person #1) to communicate with prospective donors on Santos’s behalf.
Santos allegedly directed Person #1 to falsely tell donors that, among other
things, their money would be used to help elect Santos to the House, including
by purchasing television advertisements. In reliance on these false statements,
two donors (Contributor #1 and Contributor #2) each transferred $25,000 to
Company #1’s bank account, which Santos controlled.
As alleged in the
indictment, shortly after the funds were received into Company #1’s bank
account, the money was transferred into Santos’s personal bank accounts—in one
instance laundered through two of Santos’s personal accounts. Santos
allegedly then used much of that money for personal expenses. Among other
things, Santos allegedly used the funds to make personal purchases (including
of designer clothing), to withdraw cash, to discharge personal debts, and to
transfer money to his associates.
Unemployment Insurance
Fraud Scheme
Beginning in
approximately February 2020, Santos was employed as a Regional Director of a
Florida-based investment firm (Investment Firm #1), where he earned an annual
salary of approximately $120,000. By late-March 2020, in response to the
outbreak of COVID-19 in the United States, new legislation was signed into law
that provided additional federal funding to assist out-of-work Americans during
the pandemic.
In mid-June 2020, although
he was employed and was not eligible for unemployment benefits, Santos applied
for government assistance through the New York State Department of Labor,
allegedly claiming falsely to have been unemployed since March 2020. From
that point until April 2021—when Santos was working and receiving a salary on a
near-continuous basis and during his unsuccessful run for Congress—he falsely
affirmed each week that he was eligible for unemployment benefits when he was
not. As a result, Santos allegedly fraudulently received more than
$24,000 in unemployment insurance benefits.
False Statements to the
House of Representatives
Finally, the indictment
describes Santos’s alleged efforts to mislead the House of Representatives and
the public about his financial condition in connection with each of his two
Congressional campaigns.
Santos, like all
candidates for the House, had a legal duty to file with the Clerk of the House
of Representatives a Financial Disclosure Statement (House Disclosures) before
each election. In each of his House Disclosures, Santos was personally
required to give a full and complete accounting of his assets, income, and
liabilities, among other things. He certified that his House Disclosures
were true, complete, and correct.
In May 2020, in
connection with his first campaign for election to the House, Santos filed two
House Disclosures in which he allegedly falsely certified that, during the
reporting period, his only earned income consisted of salary, commission, and
bonuses totaling $55,000 from another company (Company #2), and that the only
compensation exceeding $5,000 he received from a single source was an
unspecified commission bonus from Company #2. In actuality, Santos
allegedly overstated the income he received from Company #2 and altogether
failed to disclose the salary he received from Investment Firm #1.
In September 2022, in
connection with his second campaign for election to the House, Santos filed
another House Disclosure, in which he allegedly overstated his income and
assets. In this House Disclosure, he falsely certified that during the
reporting period:
- He had earned $750,000 in salary
from the Devolder Organization LLC, a Florida‑based entity of which Santos
was the sole beneficial owner;
- He had received between
$1,000,001 and $5,000,000 in dividends from the Devolder Organization LLC;
- He had a checking account with
deposits of between $100,001 and $250,000; and
- He had a savings account with
deposits of between $1,000,001 and $5,000,000.
As alleged in the
indictment, these assertions were false: Santos had not received from the
Devolder Organization LLC the reported amounts of salary or dividends and did
not maintain checking or savings accounts with deposits in the reported
amounts. Further, Santos allegedly failed to disclose that, in 2021, he
received approximately $28,000 in income from Investment Firm #1 and more than
$20,000 in unemployment insurance benefits from the NYS DOL.
The charges in the
indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent
unless and until proven guilty. If convicted of the charges, Santos faces
a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the top counts. A federal
district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S.
Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The FBI is investigating
the case with assistance from the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office and
the IRS-Criminal Investigation.
The government’s case is
being prosecuted by the Office’s Public Integrity Section, the Long Island
Criminal Division, and the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.
Assistant United States Attorneys Ryan Harris, Anthony
Bagnuola, and Laura Zuckerwise, along with Trial Attorneys Jolee Porter and
Jacob Steiner, are in charge of the prosecution with assistance from Paralegal
Specialist Rachel Friedman. Senior Litigation Counsel Victor R. Salgado of the
Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section provided substantial contributions
to the prosecution.
The Defendant:
GEORGE ANTHONY DEVOLDER
SANTOS
Age: 34
Washington, District of Columbia
E.D.N.Y.
Docket No. 23-CR-197